Franciscan Spirit

I only saw Thomas Merton once. He walked in front of my family and me when we were visiting the Abbey of Gethsemani in early June 1961. I had read Sign of Jonah and Waters of Siloe in the high school seminary in Cincinnati, and already my youthful mind intuitively knew that this man was a prophet for my soul and for the Church in the world. So, on the day of my graduation and return to Kansas for the summer, I said to my parents, “Let’s take the southern route home. I have a place I want you to see.” Little did I imagine!

When you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you. (Matthew 6:6) The obvious answer to the question is: anywhere and everywhere, “walking in public or strolling alone...seated in your shop...while buying or selling...or even while cooking” (St. John Chrysostom). There are no limits. When I was teaching high school, I used to work out at a local fitness center that many of the students used. They would see me running on the treadmill at night, praying my rosary. Often students asked me, “Does praying on the treadmill count?”

In the dark of night, my eyes opened. Before I knew what was happening, I found myself sitting up in bed and swinging my legs to the floor without really waking. Then, as I made my somnolent way across the room and out the bedroom door, I heard it—the sound that had filtered into my brain and kicked me into motion while I slept.

Oftentimes we want direction from God: a clear, definitive answer to the questions in our hearts. But God doesn't always work that way, Br. Casey Cole, OFM, says. Sometimes God speaks to us through our work, through friends, or through family. Casey found his call in service.

Saint Anthony of Padua is a name that conjures up many ideas and images: some factual, some the stuff of legends, some just plain silly. But doesn’t that attest to his importance as a saint? Only the saints can have that kind of an effect on people’s thinking. They tend to be bigger than life, and that’s what their stories are all about—men and women who are bigger than life, and who passionately love the Lord.

The feast of Saint Anthony is tomorrow, but the celebration should be yearlong! Anthony is, after all, one of the most revered saints in the Church calendar! Anthony faced several startling paradoxes. A paradox is defined as “a situation or event that appears to be of one value, perhaps negative, but then in time it is seen to be something positive.” It can happen the other way, too. Paradoxically, Jesus’ death had to be a sign of a complete failure of his mission and life.

On June 13, we celebrate the feast of Saint Anthony. This is the date on which he died in 1231, five years after the death of Saint Francis. Now is a good time to reflect on the many traits that Anthony and Francis hold in common.

As you can see, we have changed the name of our blog from American Catholic to Franciscan Spirit. We feel it better represents our mission: to spread the Gospel in the spirit of our founder, Saint Francis of Assisi. But what is the Franciscan spirit?

The loss of hope is a terrible thing. It can be lethal. But for most of us, a deficiency of it shows itself in more subtle ways: discouragement, putting our trust in everything but God, or focusing too much on the negative in the world. But hope is alive. We have to believe that.

Pope Francis is a breath of fresh air. This is a man who, as we've seen, takes the time to visit the sick, bless children, embrace the imprisoned. He chooses to live in in an apartment rather than the papal rooms, and promotes the spirit of his namesake, Saint Francis. Yes, Pope Francis has much to teach us about faith, hope, and charity. Enjoy these quotes from our pope